Do Mobile Fidelity Vinyl Re-issues Have a Digital Step in the Process?

[Ron Resnick]

Yesterday I was sent a YouTube video by Mike of The In Groove who alleges that every Mo-Fi One Step release (his broader claim is every Mobile Fidelity release since 2015) has a digital step in the mastering process. He proffered an initial theory or two, but then rejected those as improbable.

He then said that he has received information from multiple reliable sources that this is correct. But he did not report what these sources may have claimed was the digital step in the process.

What is Mobile Fidelity’s exact representation with regard to One-Steps? Does Mobile Fidelity say merely “mastered from the original analog master tapes” — which would not preclude an intermediate transfer to DSD? Or does Mobile Fidelity something more specific which clearly precludes the possibility of a digital step in the process, such as “100% analog mastering and production process”?

Have you ever heard of this allegation? What do you think of this allegation?

 

[bonzo75]

Yesterday I was sent a YouTube video by Mike of The In Groove who alleges that every Mo-Fi One Step release (his broader claim is every Mobile Fidelity release since 2015) has a digital step in the mastering process. He proffered an initial theory or two, but then rejected those as improbable.

He then said that he has received information from multiple reliable sources that this is correct.

Have you ever heard of this? What do you think of the allegation?

I never liked any Mofi in comparisons. The Beatles is famous but pales to the original imo

 

[Ron Resnick]

I never liked any Mofi in comparisons. The Beatles is famous but pales to the original imo

What does your post have to do with my specific question?

Is your point that if they turn out to be digital remasters that that is why you never liked them?

 

[bonzo75]

What does your post have to do with my specific question?

Is your point that if they turn out to be digital remasters that that is why you never liked them?

Could be I have no idea why.

 

[ddk]

Yesterday I was sent a YouTube video by Mike of The In Groove who alleges that every Mo-Fi One Step release (his broader claim is every Mobile Fidelity release since 2015) has a digital step in the mastering process. He proffered an initial theory or two, but then rejected those as improbable.

He then said that he has received information from multiple reliable sources that this is correct. But he did not report what these sources may have claimed was the digital step in the process.

What is Mobile Fidelity’s exact representation with regard to One-Steps? Does Mobile Fidelity say merely “mastered from the original analog master tapes” — which would not preclude an intermediate transfer to DSD? Or does Mobile Fidelity something more specific which clearly precludes the possibility of a digital step in the process, such as “100% analog mastering and production process”?

Have you ever heard of this allegation? What do you think of this allegation?

I don't have direct knowledge but given how much hoopla and poopla MoFi puts into marketing this stuff as the ultimate expression of analog, it would be a safe bet that they would have mentioned it in their poopla if it was all analog mastering !

The Poopla;

https://mofi.com/pages/technologies

david

 

[PeterA]

What does your post have to do with my specific question?

Is your point that if they turn out to be digital remasters that that is why you never liked them?

Ron I don’t know the answer your question, but i’m not interested in getting Mofi recordings regardless of if or when there’s a digital step in the process.

EDIT: For me, it’s not a matter of whether or not there’s digital in the process, it is the final result and how it sounds that matters. I just don’t like the way they sound. I am not an absolutist in that sense requiring AAA recordings.

 

[pcosta]

I never liked any Mofi in comparisons. The Beatles is famous but pales to the original imo

Those Mofi Beatles are part of the "old" Mofi so that is about two companies ago.

 

[bonzo75]

Those Mofi Beatles are part of the "old" Mofi so that is about two companies ago.

Ok had their quality improved?

 

[pcosta]

Ok had their quality improved?

I personally find the old original Mofi records to be bright or as some people say has the "happy face" type of equalization applied. Todays Mofi is better. The old Mofi quality as far as the physical record playing quietly was top notch. Todays Mofi is ok, but there are other reissue labels I prefer, but they may have more to do with the music they are putting out.

 

[microstrip]

Yesterday I was sent a YouTube video by Mike of The In Groove who alleges that every Mo-Fi One Step release (his broader claim is every Mobile Fidelity release since 2015) has a digital step in the mastering process. He proffered an initial theory or two, but then rejected those as improbable.

He then said that he has received information from multiple reliable sources that this is correct. But he did not report what these sources may have claimed was the digital step in the process.

What is Mobile Fidelity’s exact representation with regard to One-Steps? Does Mobile Fidelity say merely “mastered from the original analog master tapes” — which would not preclude an intermediate transfer to DSD? Or does Mobile Fidelity something more specific which clearly precludes the possibility of a digital step in the process, such as “100% analog mastering and production process”?

Have you ever heard of this allegation? What do you think of this allegation?

A no problem, Ron. Get three people suffering from digitalitis, six tablets of aspirin and an experienced doctor. Play both sides of the record. If some one needs medical care and more than three aspirin tablets are missing at the end of the session we can be sure there was a digital step in the recording.

An experienced doctor is needed to be sure that the listeners hating remasters are not simulating the digitalitis symptoms.

 

[rDin]

These MoFi conversations have been shut down over on Hoffman forums...

Looking at spectrogams of the One-Steps I own, and particularly when comparing them to original pressings I own, I am now concerned. I'd urgently like some clarification from MoFi on this.

 

[Audiophile Bill]

These MoFi conversations have been shut down over on Hoffman forums...

Looking at spectrogams of the One-Steps I own, and particularly when comparing them to original pressings I own, I am now concerned. I'd urgently like some clarification from MoFi on this.

Although I don’t personally buy Mofi pressings of anything, if it turns out to be true, I think the audiophile community should boycott them en masse. Largely because their “poopla” is misleading in the *spirit* even if not technically the word (per a legal definition). Clearly designed to make one think it is a pure analogue end to end. All imho ymmv etc.

 

[Drikus]

Mike of The In Groove posted an update on YouTube today. Mo-Fi invited him to their facility in California on Tuesday for a sit down interview, they will answer all his questions and show him how it's done.

 

[Audiophile Bill]

Mike of The In Groove posted an update on YouTube today. Mo-Fi invited him to their facility in California on Tuesday for a sit down interview, they will answer all his questions and show him how it's done.

That is good! Well done Mofi for being open to this.

 

[rDin]

Just to say that the threads are open again on the Hoffman forums. Perhaps a temporary glitch, rather than a conspiracy!

 

[mtemur]

I never liked MOFI’s reissues at all. Apart from possibility of source’s being digital I don’t like their mastering either. It’s over-soften with an exaggerated mid bass for my taste.

This explains better (post#18):
Post in thread 'Supersense Mastercut Edition Lacquers'
https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/supersense-mastercut-edition-lacquers.33964/post-769482

 

[MikeHorns]

To be clear, Kind of Blue is not a one-step process release. None one-step uses the 'same lacquer' to produce the father stamper, mother stamper, then many pressing stampers(from the mother) to meet the need for 20,000 copies of Kind of Blue.

The way MoFi explains it, one-step uses a fresh-cut lacquer to make a convert, and uses that to press a maximum of 1,000 pressings. To meet the demand for 40,000 pressings of upcoming MJ's Thriller(which is what causes the debate all over the internet), MoFi would have to either cut 40 lacquers running the master tape 40 times(which I doubt) or have 40 cutting lathes(which I also doubt) running at the same time. Some think they use hi-res digital files(24-192) from the master tape, and some think they made a master dub so they can use it again and again.

Since the news broke out, Mike of The In Groove has been invited to MoFi(upcoming Tuesday) to observe/explain how MoFi plans to produce 40,000 one-step Thriller.

 

[Jeffy]

I personally say give MOFI the benefit of the doubt. I feel personally that they are not digital. If this is the case a lot of people need to apologize. It will be interesting to see how many are man enough to do this.

 

[Holli82]

I have 2 one-step recordings (Marvin Gaye --What's Going On? and Eric Clapton--Unplugged). I think they sound great.

 

[Avidlistener]

Chiming in a bit late on this thread and wanted to add my 2 cents, even though we don’t truly know the full story yet.

While some MFSL fans don’t seem to care if there is a digital intermediate (a film term) in the process, I definitely do. If I wanted to listen to a DSD file, I’d do so and decode it myself through my etherRegen and DS Dac, and whatever digital chain I upgrade to in the future. To me, analog is an experience. I believe there are other aspects of a relaxed quality that goes beyond pure Sonics one can analyze. And just as customers are entitled to truly get the free range chicken or eggs they are purchasing, analog fans deserve the same

For background, I own probably at least 50 older MFSL titles and half a dozen one steps.

But regarding the way the matter is being handled....

I hate to be this guy, however hypothetically a company can show an outsider anything they want to and claim that this is the process.

When a company has millions of dollars on the line, they might do or say anything to appease their customer base, including creating a new analog copy from who knows what source, and offering that as proof.

I would hope that Mike (who broke the story from several sources) confirms what he saw with his sources to see if what was demonstrated matches their understanding/experience.

I simply don’t understand the need to bring someone in to demonstrate. Either the process is all analog (when possible) or it isn’t. A simple statement would have cleared up any rumors immediately, which could have then been followed with a factory tour.

As stated already, MFSL has in the past (so I’ve read) done things like eq’ing a region to make it sound different.

I’ve read other claims that after a certain point fairly early on, original masters were cut from dupes. While I understand this may be all that was made available from the labels (and most commercial LP’s in they heyday were cut from copies, often eq’d for vinyl) I don’t see (my opinion only) the label in question as straight shooters, and nothing about the current process being less than advertised would surprise me.

Also, nothing about the upcoming Thiller release has any bearing on the provenance of titles created over the last 7 years.